EU Reporterhttps://www.eureporter.co
Independent media for proper debateWed, 19 Dec 2018 07:15:33 +0000en-GBhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.12#DigitalSingleMarket – New rules on non-personal data enter into forcehttps://www.eureporter.co/frontpage/2018/12/19/digitalsinglemarket-new-rules-on-non-personal-data-enter-into-force/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 07:15:33 +0000https://www.eureporter.co/?p=75194The Regulation on the free flow of non-personal data that was proposed by the European Commission in September 2017 has entered into force. The Regulation was adopted by the European Parliament in October 2018 and by the Council of the European Union in November 2018. It will allow public and private sector bodies to store and process non-personal data anywhere in the EU in the most efficient and cost-effective way, as well as raise trust in cloud computing and make it easier for customers to switch or end their cloud contracts.

Furthermore, from now on, it will no longer be possible for member states to compel businesses to store data in a particular location. Wherever data is stored in the EU (whether in a cloud or locally), competent authorities in all Member States will retain any right they currently already have to request access for regulatory and supervisory control.

Digital Single Market Vice President Andrus Ansip and Digital Economy and Society Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said: “From today, there will be one major barrier less in the Digital Single Market: any new data localization restrictions are forbidden. All unjustified existing ones must be phased out within two years. The new Regulation on the free flow of non-personal data will help stimulating the European data economy, boosting growth and jobs as well the EU competitiveness in the global market. Better data flow will open up new possibilities for European startups and SMEs to create new services.”

The new Regulation also creates a self-regulatory process by which cloud stakeholders (service providers and users) develop codes of conduct that will enable users to switch between providers more easily. This new Regulation does not in any way affect the application of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as it does not cover personal data. The two Regulations will function together to enable the free flow of all data in the EU, creating a single European space for data.

]]>Have your say: European expert group seeks feedback on draft ethics guidelines for trustworthy #ArtificialIntelligencehttps://www.eureporter.co/frontpage/2018/12/19/have-your-say-european-expert-group-seeks-feedback-on-draft-ethics-guidelines-for-trustworthy-artificialintelligence/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 07:00:21 +0000https://www.eureporter.co/?p=75191On 18 December, the High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, which was appointed by the Commission in June, released the first draft of its ethics guidelines for the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI). In this document, the independent group of 52 experts from academia, business and civil society, sets out how developers and users can make sure AI respects fundamental rights, applicable regulation and core principles and how the technology can be made technically robust and reliable.

Digital Single Market Vice President Andrus Ansip said: “AI can bring major benefits to our societies, from helping diagnose and cure cancers to reducing energy consumption. But for people to accept and use AI-based systems, they need to trust them, know that their privacy is respected, that decisions are not biased. The work of the expert group is very important in this regard and I encourage everyone to share their comments to help the group finalize the guidelines”.

Digital Economy and Society Commissioner Mariya Gabriel added: “The use of artificial intelligence, like the use of all technology must always be aligned with our core values and uphold fundamental rights. The purpose of the ethics guidelines is to ensure this in practice. Since this challenge concerns all sectors of our society, it is important that everybody can comment and contribute to the work in progress. Please join the European AI Alliance and let us have your feedback!”

The draft ethics guidelines are now open for comments until 18 January and discussions are taking place through the European AI Alliance. In March 2019, the expert group will present their final guidelines to the Commission which will analyse them and propose how to take this work forward. More information is available online.

]]>EU and #UNESCO team up for a new project on heritage, education and youthhttps://www.eureporter.co/frontpage/2018/12/19/eu-and-unesco-team-up-for-a-new-project-on-heritage-education-and-youth/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 06:45:34 +0000https://www.eureporter.co/?p=75189In connection with the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage, the European Union and UNESCO have developed a new project to strengthen links between young people, heritage and education. The project, which is expected to start in January 2019, will run for 15 months and has two main components. The first aims to bring intangible cultural heritage into the classroom. For instance, the project partners will develop a set of guidance materials to support teachers in integrating intangible cultural heritage in school curricula and extracurricular activities.

UNESCO will also organize training workshops for a group of selected schools to integrate intangible cultural heritage in core subjects of educational curricula. Activities could include, for example, the use of traditional bells to explain the expansion of soundwaves in physics. The second component seeks to empower a new generation of heritage professionals through the Young Heritage Experts’ Forum in Zadar, Croatia. The event will feature hands-on activities enabling participants to develop skills related to preserving and promoting heritage, as well as workshops, group discussions and site visits.

Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Commissioner Tibor Navracsics (pictured) said: “I am delighted that we are joining forces with UNESCO for this project. Enabling young people to engage with Europe’s rich and diverse cultural heritage is key in building a cohesive, resilient society for the future.”

]]>#StateAid – Commission approves €20 million Italian scheme supporting noise reduction in rail freight transporthttps://www.eureporter.co/frontpage/2018/12/19/stateaid-commission-approves-e20-million-italian-scheme-supporting-noise-reduction-in-rail-freight-transport/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 06:30:43 +0000https://www.eureporter.co/?p=75187The European Commission has approved under EU state aid rules a €20 million aid scheme to support noise reduction of rail freight traffic in Italy. The aid will be granted through a reimbursement of up to 50% of the cost of equipping rail freight wagons operating in Italy, which have been put into circulation before 1 January 2015 with less noisy composite brake blocks. This retrofitting will allow reducing noise emissions of older wagons to more restrictive noise levels which are mandatory for new wagons. The scheme is open to all railway companies and owners of wagons established in the European Economic Area who operate freight transport on the Italian railway network and the aid will be granted on non-discriminatory terms. The Commission found that the measure is necessary as, absent the support, railway companies and owners of existing freight wagons would not have sufficient incentives to carry out the retrofitting.

]]>EU steps up support for #Ethiopia: Emergency aid for refugees, internally displaced people and to tackle natural disastershttps://www.eureporter.co/frontpage/2018/12/19/eu-steps-up-support-for-ethiopia-emergency-aid-for-refugees-internally-displaced-people-and-to-tackle-natural-disasters/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 06:15:20 +0000https://www.eureporter.co/?p=75185On an official visit to Ethiopia, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Commissioner Christos Stylianides announced €89 million in humanitarian support for 2018-2019 whilst visiting EU aid projects in the Somali region in Eastern Ethiopia where many people have fled their homes due to internal conflict.

Speaking from the Qologi camp for internally displaced people near Jijiga, capital of the Somali region, Commissioner Stylianides said: “Ethiopia is an important partner for the European Union. As the country undergoes profound positive political change, the EU will step up support for the most vulnerable Ethiopians. I have seen myself how crucial our EU humanitarian support is in the daily lives of displaced people. It helps them feed their children, provide them with medicines and send them to school. This is EU aid that saves lives.”

The EU funding will be used to address the needs of people displaced within Ethiopia, refugees from neighbouring countries as well as tackling natural disasters such as drought. Currently there are close to 3 million people displaced within the country and around 1 million refugees from neighbouring countries. During his mission, Commissioner Stylianides met with Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde and Somalia Region President Mustafa Mohammed Omar. He also held various meetings with other Ethiopian authorities, representatives of the African Union, and with partners delivering aid on the ground.

]]>#Brexit timeline – United Kingdom’s tortuous journey in and out of the EUhttps://www.eureporter.co/frontpage/2018/12/19/brexit-timeline-united-kingdoms-tortuous-journey-in-and-out-of-the-eu/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 06:00:51 +0000https://www.eureporter.co/?p=75183Britain will leave the European Union at 23h GMT on 29 March, 2019. Today (19 December) marks 100 days to departure day, writes Alistair Smout.

Below is a timeline:

WAS BRITAIN A FOUNDER MEMBER OF THE BLOC?

No. Britain declined to join the European Union’s forerunner, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), when it was founded in 1952.

Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee told parliament in 1950 his party was “not prepared to accept the principle that the most vital economic forces of this country should be handed over to an authority that is utterly undemocratic and is responsible to nobody.”

There was also concern it might make close ties with the Commonwealth and the United States more difficult. Britain also stayed out of the European Economic Community when it was formed from the ECSC in 1957.

Conservative Prime Minister Harold MacMillan reversed this position in 1961 and sought membership of the EEC.

With Europe divided in the Cold War, he said the promotion of European unity and stability through the bloc was “so essential a factor in the struggle for freedom and progress throughout the world.”

But France led resistance to Britain’s membership in the 1960s, with Charles De Gaulle blocking Britain’s accession in 1961 and 1967, accusing the British of “deep-seated hostility” to the European project.

WHEN DID BRITAIN FINALLY JOIN?

Britain joined the EEC in 1973 after France dropped its objection’s following De Gaulle’s resignation in 1969.

As he signed the treaty taking Britain into the common market, Conservative Prime Minister Ted Heath said “imagination will be required” to develop its institutions while respecting the individuality of states.

1975 – BRITAIN’S FIRST EUROPEAN REFERENDUM

In 1975, new Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson, faced with splits among his ministers on Europe, decided to hold an “in-out” referendum on membership. He backed staying in after saying a renegotiation on terms of membership had “substantially though not completely” achieved his objectives.

Britons voted 67 percent to 33 percent to stay in the European Union in 1975.

WAS THE QUESTION OF EUROPE SETTLED AFTER THE 1975 VOTE?

No. Although new Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher backed the campaign to stay in the bloc in 1975, her premiership saw her party become increasingly divided by the issue and her own relationship with EU leaders was tense at times.

She attacked the idea of a single currency and too much power being centralized in EU institutions, telling the then-Commission President Jacques Delors “No, no, no” over his plans for more European integration in 1990.

However, days later she was challenged for the leadership of the party by pro-European Michael Heseltine, and was forced from office when she failed to beat him outright in November 1990.

Her successor, John Major, was forced to pull sterling out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) on so called ‘Black Wednesday’, 16 September, 1992. The ERM had been intended to reduce exchange rate fluctuations ahead of monetary union.

Major was also beset by divisions over Europe, describing three Eurosceptic cabinet ministers as “bastards” in 1993 after narrowly surviving a confidence vote over the EU Maastricht Treaty.

After Labour’s Tony Blair won the 1997 election, his finance minister, Gordon Brown, effectively ruled out euro entry by setting out five economic tests that had been worked out with his top aide, Ed Balls, in a New York taxi.

The Conservatives returned to office in 2010 after 13 years of Labour government.

In a bid to shore up support for the Conservatives in the face of a split party and the small but staunchly eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP), Cameron promised an “in-out” referendum on a renegotiated deal on membership in the party’s 2015 election manifesto.

MAY DAYS

May triggered Article 50, the formal EU divorce notice, in March 2017, setting the exit date of March 29th, 2019 for Britain to leave – with or without a deal.

In a bid to gain backing for her Brexit plan, she called a snap election for June 2017. The gamble backfired. She lost her parliamentary majority and formed a minority government, supported by the eurosceptic Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

She survived that, but with the 100 day countdown to Brexit about to begin, Britain still doesn’t know on what terms it will leave the bloc, whether May will be in office to see it through or whether it will be forced to delay or revoke the Article 50 process.

]]>Factbox – What do British politicians say about another #Referendum on #Brexit?https://www.eureporter.co/frontpage/2018/12/19/factbox-what-do-british-politicians-say-about-another-referendum-on-brexit/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 05:45:49 +0000https://www.eureporter.co/?p=75181The crisis in Prime Minister Theresa May’s government over her plans to leave the European Union has stirred interest in the possibility that Britain may hold a second vote on whether to end decades of membership of the world’s largest trading bloc, writes Andrew MacAskill.

A few months ago, such an idea looked inconceivable. But the idea is now being widely debated.

May last week survived the gravest threat yet to her embattled leadership, winning a party confidence vote, but this does little to improve her chances of getting her Brexit deal through Parliament.

As May’s political options narrow, the idea of throwing the question back to the public is gaining momentum.

Below is what key politicians say about holding another vote:

Prime Minister Theresa May: “Let us not break faith with the British people by trying to stage another referendum.

“Another vote which would do irreparable damage to the integrity our politics, because it would say to millions who trusted in democracy, that our democracy does not deliver.”

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn: “It’s an option for the future, but not an option for today. Because if you have a referendum tomorrow, what is the question going to be on, what’s the question going to be?”

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair: “What seemed a few months ago unlikely is now I would say above a 50 percent likelihood. We will go back to the people. Ultimately, this could even make sense to the PM, who could perfectly legitimately say, ‘I did my best, my deal was rejected by parliament.

“In a new referendum both sides will be able to make their case in the context of the experience of the Brexit negotiation, and what we have learned through it.”

Former Prime Minister John Major: “It has downsides. I mean, frankly, a second vote has democratic downsides. It has difficulties. But is it morally justified? I think it is.

“If you look back at the Leave campaign, a great many of the promises they made were fantasy promises. We now know they are not going to be met.”

Nigel Farage, the former U.K. Independence Party leader and a leading proponent of Brexit, said: “My message, folks, tonight is, as much as I don’t want a second referendum, it would be wrong of us…not to get ready, not to be prepared for a worst-case scenario.

“Can I urge you, can I implore you to get ready for every situation? I think they will, in the next few months, betray us completely and let us be ready not just to fight back, but if it comes, we will win it next time by a much bigger margin.”

Liam Fox, Britain’s trade minister and a supporter of leaving the EU: “Supposing we had another referendum. Supposing the remain side won it by 52% to 48% but it was on a lower turnout, entirely possible.

“Let me tell you that if there is another referendum, which I don’t think there will be, people like me will be immediately demanding it is best of three. Where does that end up?”

Boris Johnson, former foreign minister: “They (the public) would know immediately that they were being asked to vote again simply because they had failed to give the ‘right’ answer last time. They would suspect, with good grounds, that it was all a gigantic plot, engineered by politicians, to overturn their verdict. A second referendum would provoke instant, deep and ineradicable feelings of betrayal.”